It Just Isn't Home Without You
by Blousey
Summary: One-shot. Faberry. Sort of AU, established Rachel/Quinn relationship. Bad summary is bad, but give it a chance.


**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**A/N:** It should be easily understood, but the italic sections are sort of flashbacks. Enjoy and review :) Just a one-shot.

* * *

Quinn knew it was utterly stupid to be at this loud nightclub. She should have turned her car around and gone home the moment she saw how sleezy the place was. But the petite brunette she had been tailing was making her way inside, and the instant she saw that, she knew had to go in. It seemed all the convincing in the world wasn't going to stop the diva.

Again, Quinn chastised herself. Rachel Berry was not her concern anymore. The blonde had ended things with the girl that very day. Yet, the filthy, unappealing club drew her in because her biggest weakness was inside and likely to be susceptible to anything, if the breakdown she had that morning was any indication. By the afternoon, Rachel had become a lifeless shell of who she once was. It was like she was past caring anymore. Quinn was aware that this spelled trouble and/or harm for the tiny female, but she could never quite place why she felt the urge to make this her problem.

_Two o'clock in the morning and Quinn Fabray was staring at the ceiling. She should have been asleep long ago, but there was a small brunette whimpering next to her. No amount of comforting seemed to change the girl's demeanor, and after Rachel's gentle pleas, Quinn had obeyed her wishes and stopped trying. A frown had been plastered to her face ever since she gave in. The quiet noises shouldn't have affected her sleep schedule. But they were both awake, and what was really the smallest sound was nearly enough to break Quinn's heart._

_She wasn't sure why that didn't let her sleep. Maybe she feared that something would happen if she wasn't alert while Rachel was in such a state. She really could only guess at why this affected her so much._

_Rachel shifted in the sheets, running through her mind the one bad review she'd gotten on a small show she'd been cast in. It was only a few nights into its run, but the critic's words hit her hard. She felt angry at herself for making everything worse than what it was, for worrying about this when she knew what would come with getting into show business, and most of all, for pushing Quinn away when all she wanted to do was help. Rachel couldn't bear explaining all her inner turmoil that came along with these reviews she'd been getting. Heck, she didn't even know if Quinn had any idea about them._

_Finally, at three thirty in the morning, Rachel had cried all she could, drifting off to sleep at last. Quinn helplessly draped an arm around the tiny diva's midsection, pulling her into her own body. Face buried in Rachel's beautiful brown hair, she let loose tears of her own. Tears she had no reason to cry. She simply cried for the pain her girlfriend carried, knowing it would be a long time coming before Quinn would be allowed to help rebuild her._

The dank club reeked of stale alcohol and cheap snacks. There was another stench in the air, but Quinn couldn't identify it. The body odor in the room made it hard to smell anything else. Bodies were pushed up against each other, pulsing to the beat as one big wave of flesh.

The blonde maneuvered her way through the first crowd of people at the entrance. Once through, she had a much more open view of the dancefloor. Still, it wasn't enough. She headed towards the steps that would lead to a balcony of sorts that overlooked the center of the room, dancefloor and all. It provided a better angle to locate the woman she was set on tracking.

She stood on that balcony, glued to the spot, for fifteen straight minutes without so much as catching a glimpse of Rachel. She reluctantly backtracked, landing herself at an empty table on the first floor. She tapped her fingers absently on the table, still scanning for her newly ex-girlfriend. Quinn heard a stifled sob that somehow overpowered the entire thud of the club's music. She whipped around to pinpoint the sound. Across the way, in a corner by a table, was a brunette sitting on the floor.

In fact, it was just the one Quinn had been searching for.

"_Rachel, look, I care about you, okay?" Quinn cupped Rachel's cheeks, locking their eyes. "Okay? But I don't want you to do anything rash or stupid because I know you're going to regret if you don't end up in the hospital first."_

"_Quinn, what are you implying?"_

"_I just... I know you. I will always be here for you, but I think we need to figure ourselves out. Take a step back from being wrapped up in our relationship to see what's around us. Stop and smell the roses and-"_

"_I understand."_

"_I'll be out of your hair before nighttime. Deal?"_

"_This isn't some business transaction, Quinn Fabray. How are you able to be so light-hearted when we're literally processing our break-up? Did you even care about us at all?"_

_Quinn's face fell. She thought Rachel would have been satisfied with an airy, happy parting. That was the only reason the blonde even went to the trouble of acting the way she did. "I thought you knew me better than that."_

"_I thought so, too."_

"_Then get out of your self-centered Rachel-bubble and realize that you're not that only one upset. The world doesn't revolve around you." _My world, maybe,_ she thought distantly. "But you know what, whatever. Keep telling yourself that no one loves you and that you are the single-most important thing in life! See where that gets you! Meanwhile, I'll be taking my things. I'm going to be gone before nightfall." Quinn set her jaw and turned towards the stairs, letting her eyes well up because Rachel's back faced the staircase. Knowing the brunette wouldn't see, she let her tears fall easily as she rushed up the remaining stairs in quick strides._

"_I—" But by the time Rachel turned around to apologize, Quinn had disappeared up the steps, leaving her words hanging in the air, broken and unused._

Quinn hadn't expected to actually find Rachel in the club, but now that she had, she didn't know whether she should take action. They were broken up, so it wasn't her responsibility, but the way Rachel was curled into herself just tugged at the blonde's heartstrings.

_Fuck it, _she thought.

With that, Quinn stood and made her way to the semi-empty corner that Rachel was occupying. She bent down, leaning back and sitting cross-legged in front of the girl whose head was currently resting on her knees.

"Rachel?"

Rachel breathed in sharply. What was wrong with her? First, she thought she saw Quinn's car outside, and now she's hearing her voice.

"Rachel." Quinn reached out to shake the girl's shoulder gently.

The brunette groaned and lifted her head, wincing from the abrupt pain that her clogged head was receiving. "Quinn?"

"Yes, it's me. What are you doing here?"

"I'm having fun."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I can see that."

Rachel went silent, averting her eyes.

Quinn leaned down to put herself in Rachel's line of vision. "Why are you here?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Uhm, because you could do drugs, you could get shot, you could commit suicide or do something worse." She held up a hand to stop Rachel's protest, shifting into a more comfortable position. "I'm not saying you would. Those sorts of things just happen in gross clubs like these."

"So?"

"You're not in the right state of mind to protect yourself."

_It was nearing evening by the time Quinn was finished packing. She had found that she had drawn out the experience to make it longer than necessary. She didn't even realize that she wouldn't have a place to stay. She was essentially letting Rachel keep the house they were renting. The blonde wondered if she should stop paying the rent, but she decided against the idea._

_She had managed to fit everything into two suitcases and a handbag. By the time she reached the door downstairs, Rachel was there as well. At first Quinn thought the brunette was seeing her off, but the girl's get-up was not what she had on earlier. And on top of that, Rachel was applying lip gloss in a small mirror on the wall. Quinn frowned._

"_Rachel, where are you going?"_

"_Out."_

"_Out where?"_

"_That's not particularly your concern, now is it, Quinn?"_

_Quinn rolled her eyes as she turned away slightly, biting her lip. She'd already cried three times that day. She didn't need to do it again. At least not in front of Rachel. But the brunette's sharp comments made her heart clench painfully, and she didn't know why._

"_Will you just stay here? Tonight? Please?" Quinn's eyes were downcast and her voice was meek. Fighting the tears and the lurching feeling in the pit of her stomach was proving difficult, and the struggle was expressed in her tone._

_Rachel glanced behind her to see Quinn's utterly broken look. And more than that, the brunette saw how hard she was trying to hide it. She turned away from her ex-girlfriend, gripping her head and mentally berating herself for being an ass._

"_I have to go now," Rachel whispered._

_Quinn bit her lip, making one last effort as she murmured a desperate, "Please."_

_Rachel simply shook her head and let herself out of the home, throwing "See you around," behind her as she left._

"You don't think I could get drunk? I could," Rachel spoke defensively, still planted on the floor.

"I know you're buzzed at the very least. God, one look at you, and I could tell. You really underestimate how well I know you."

"I—"

"I can't believe I let you leave," Quinn muttered, pushing her hair back and out of her face.

"I should have listened. I was being brash because you hurt me."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Rach. I stopped our relationship so that neither of us would hurt. And all it has done is cause us both more pain."

"You too?" Rachel asked as if it was the most casual revelation she'd had.

Quinn nodded, staring at the floor while she dutifully picked away at the small, torn-up pieces.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. For everything. For leaving you, for getting angry with you, for anything and everything I have ever done wrong."

Rachel laughed, much to Quinn's dismay.

"I was being serious!"

"I know that. That's what made it that much more adorable and Quinn-like," the brunette replied, still smiling.

For a moment, the blonde allowed herself to smile back. It wasn't even a matter of choice when Rachel smiled at her, really.

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut tightly, a smile still goofily stuck to her face. "Fuck it," she decided. "I say we start over. I went about things the wrong way, and I—just give me one last chance to prove that I'm worth it."

"You didn't need to do any convincing."

The blonde reached out to take Rachel's hand in hers. She gripped it gently before standing, pulling the brunette up with her.

"Let's get out of here, shall we?" Quinn smiled down at Rachel, holding her arm out to link it with the smaller girl's. The brunette agreed, slipping her arm around Quinn's as they slipped out of the dank club.

Later that night, Rachel was sick. She was permanently seated by the toilet in their bedroom's adjoining bathroom. Quinn sat right next to her the whole time. Sometimes it was just dry heaving, but she knew it hurt the petite brunette all the same.

And as Rachel was leaned over the porcelain toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach while Quinn held her hair out of the way, the blonde never found her to be more beautiful.

"I love you," Quinn blurted, the censor between her brain and her mouth having failed her.

Rachel wiped her mouth as she lifted her head, a twinkle in her eye despite her pale complexion. "I love you, too," she said without hesitation.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I—" Quinn didn't know what to say. She finally had a word to put to that fluster of feelings she felt when she was around Rachel. _Love._

"I understand. And I'd kiss you, but I'm afraid that's probably not in our best interest at the moment."

Quinn giggled, leaning down to place a kiss on Rachel's cheek. "I love you," she repeated. She would never get tired of proclaiming her love for this woman.

Once Rachel was showered and feeling much better, her and Quinn decided it was probably ideal to hit the hay.

They both felt relieved to be back in their bed, in their house, laying down next to one another.

"I'm glad you came back, Quinn," Rachel whispered softly, running her fingers through blonde locks.

"Mm," Quinn agreed, soaking in the sheer love between the two of them.

"It just isn't home without you."


End file.
